Whose Collection Will Fill “Asia’s Largest Private Museum?”

There’s no doubt the Chinese subscribe to a build-it-and-they-will-come philosophy of urban planning. They’ve also begun to integrate art museums into their new cities, though often without much fore thought for collections and content. Here DeZeen shows off the work of Beijing architecture studio MAD which has announced its third major museum project for the Fujianese island of Pingtan. MAD claims this will be the largest private museum in Asia. Whose collection will it house? What are the works and how is a “private” museum cited in the center of civic development? Although these questions may not have ready answers:

Pingtan Art Museum, the third museum design by MAD Architects, has just begun its construction preparation phase. It will be the largest private museum in Asia, claiming a construction area of over 40,000 square metres. The museum’s investments total around 800 million RMB and upon completion, its debut exhibition will display over a thousand pieces of national treasures.

Being the largest island in the Fujian province, Pingtan is also the Chinese island nearest to Taiwan. In 2010, the ‘Comprehensive Experimental Zone’ project in Pingtan was officially launched; the island is expected to become the primary location for trade and cultural communication between Taiwan and the mainland in the foreseeable future. The island, which is currently home to fisheries and a military base, will quickly be transformed into an large-scale urban development zone.